Strauss & Schubert Lieder Recital (Remastered) Waltraud Meier

• Richard Strauss (1864-1949):
• 1 Cäcilie (Heinrich Hart), op. 27/2 02:28
• 2 Winterweihe (Karl Friedrich Henckell), op. 48 N° 4 02:41
• 3 Wie sollten wir geheim sie halten (Adolf Friedrich Graf von Schack), op. 19 N° 4 02:00
• 4 Morgen! (John Henry Mackay), op. 27 N° 4 03:51
• 5 Die Nacht (Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg), op. 10 N° 3 02:32
• 6 Befreit (Richard Dehmel), op. 39 N° 4 05:11
• 7 Zueignung (Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg), op. 10 N° 1 02:03
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828):
• 8 Dem Unendlichen (Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock), Lfg. 10 04:51
• 9 Wehmut (Matthäus Kasimir von Collin), op. 22 N° 2 02:30
• 10 Die Forelle (Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart), op. 32 02:09
• 11 Gretchen am Spinnrade (J. W. von Goethe), op. 2 03:47
• 12 Nachtstück (Johann Baptist Mayrhofer), op. 36 N° 2 04:51
• 13 Erlkönig (J. W. von Goethe), op. 1 04:33
• Richard Strauss (1864-1949):
• 14 Vier letzte Lieder, op. 150 - Frühling (Hermann Hesse) 03:36
• 15 Vier letzte Lieder, op. 150 - September (Hermann Hesse) 05:05
• 16 Vier letzte Lieder, op. 150 - Beim Schlafengehen (Hermann Hesse) 05:10
• 17 Vier letzte Lieder, op. 150 - Im Abendrot (Joseph von Eichendorff) 07:21
• Total Runtime 01:04:39

Info for Strauss & Schubert Lieder Recital (Remastered)

What’s Waltraud Meier’s secret to her 30 years of international success on stage?

"Authentic empathy for the respective part", she tells us, "this is the only way for the audience to understand its essence." But it is more than that, it’s her charismatic acting intensity, her acting skills, her elaborate vocal technique, as well as her frenetic singing culture. She is constantly taking up new challenges, working on herself and trying to intuitively grasp a new vocal part. Only when she can fully identify with the song or the part, when the boundaries between the part and the self are blurred, only then can the performance be convincing, says the artist.

With Joseph Breinl, she has found an ingenious partner whose primary concern is to equally learn, develop, and improve new things. They both aim to grasp what is written in the music, what the composer wanted to express. "We are servants of music, not self-exposers!"

"… Waltraud Meier presents Schubert’s Lieder with finest nuances between lyrical devotion and dramatic outbursts. But she has also a talent for the airy, playful parts, as she demonstrates with her extremely vivid version of Schubert’s "Forelle". She is accompanied by Joseph Breinl, a young pianist whose interpretation already possesses a wonderful maturity. He accentuates the orchestral side of Schubert’s piano setting just as colourful as the intimate chamber musical moods so that, in cooperation with Waltraud Meier’s expressive presentation, Schubert’s songs are rendered in an outrageously dense and tonally beautiful way … Finally, in the evergreen "Zuneigung", Waltraud Meier shows the wide range of her voice, which even in extremely slow passages retains its inner cohesion …" (Paul Hübner, klassik.com)

Waltraud Meier, mezzo-sopran
Joseph Breinl, piano

Waltraud Meier
Even during her school days, Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano and renowned Wagner interpreter, simultane- ously sang in five choirs. In 1976, she made her debut as Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana) at the Würzburg Opera. Her international career started in 1983 with her triumphal success as Kundry in Wagner’s Parsifal at the Bay- reuth Festival. Honoured with numerous prizes and awards, the artist is Kammersängerin to Bavaria and Aus- tria. In 2003, Waltraud Meier received a Grammy Award for her performance as Venus in the recording of Tann- häuser conducted by Daniel Barenboim. In May 2005, Waltraud Meier was honoured with the highest cultural award of France, the order “Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres”.

Joseph Breinl
born in 1974 in Munich, has been Waltraud Meier’s permanent Lied accompanist since the summer of 2004. Numerous broadcast recordings for all major European broadcasting services as well as widely noticed performances on most of the world’s major stages found an enthusiastic response throughout the specialised press and made Joseph Breinl into one of the most sought-after Lied pianists and chamber musicians of the young generation. Joseph Breinl received multiple awards at international contests, among others the “Wigmore Hall Competition” in London and the “International Chamber Music Competition Kuhmo”.

Booklet for Strauss & Schubert Lieder Recital (Remastered)